Someday on Europa, there’ll be a robotic explorer diving beneath its icy surface to find volcanoes. Yes, even though it’s an ice world, Europa shows signs of internal activity. Planetary scientists think volcanic features, similar to hydrothermal vents here on Earth, exist on Europa’s ocean floor. But, how to understand them?
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Mysterious blue 'aurora' over Lapland surprises skywatchers (photos)
A strange blue aurora has been spotted in the skies over Abisko, Sweden. Could a Russian submarine be the culprit of the mysterious light show?
Everything we know about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: release date, plot, cast
One of the first movies from Phase 5 of the MCU we’ll be watching is the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Here’s everything we know so far.
Planets Make it Harder to Figure out a Star’s age
Estimating stellar age has always been a challenge for astronomers. Now, a certain class of exoplanets is making the process even more complicated. Hot Jupiters – gas giants with orbital periods smaller than that of Mercury – appear to have an anti-aging effect on their stars, according to a new study. These enormous planets inflict both magnetic and tidal interference on their host star, speeding up the star’s rotation and causing them to emit X-rays more energetically, both of which are hallmarks of stellar youth. The result calls into question some of what we previously believed about stellar age, and offers a glimpse at the ongoing interconnectivity between a star and its planets long after their formation.
Northrop Grumman’s ‘S.S. Sally Ride’ cargo ship launches on flight to space station
Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket fires off its launch pad in Virginia to begin the NG-18 resupply mission. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now
Using its second-to-last Antares rocket with Russian engines before a redesign to rely on all-U.S. propulsion, Northrop Grumman sent a Cygnus supply ship into orbit from Virginia on Monday to deliver spacewalk equipment, experiments, and fresh treats for the crew on the International Space Station.
Alien planets keep their parent stars young by forcing them to 'exercise'
Planets and stars are almost like parents and children, a new study suggests: The smaller bodies keep the larger ones active, helping them stay young for longer.
James Webb Space Telescope could help hunt for habitable alien worlds
A computer simulation of TRAPPIST-1e shows how the James Webb Space Telescope could help the search for habitable alien worlds.
Newborn twin stars blast out jets of rainbow-colored gas in new Hubble image
Two puffs of star-making material exude mystical glows in a recently-published Hubble Space Telescope image.
Mars is Mostly Dead. There's Still Magma Inside, so it's Slightly Alive
Since February 2019, NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander has been making the first-ever measurements of tectonics on another planet. The key to this is InSight’s Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument (developed by seismologists and geophysicists at ETH Zurich), which has been on the surface listening for signs of “marsquakes.” The dataset it has gathered (over 1,300 seismic events) has largely confirmed what planetary scientists have long suspected: that Mars is largely quiet.
When Black Holes Collide They Also Produce Neutrinos
Ever since astronomers first detected ultra high energy neutrinos coming from random directions in space, they have not been able to figure out what generates them. But a new hypothesis suggests an unlikely source: the mergers of black holes.
What time is the Blood Moon total lunar eclipse on Nov. 8?
The last total lunar eclipse until 2025 will turn the moon a blood-red hue on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but exactly when you should look up depends on where you are.
China launches high-power Ka-band communications satellite
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket takes off with the Chinasat 19 communications satellite. Credit: CASC
China launched a high-power communications satellite Saturday on a mission to connect airline passengers, maritime vessels, and other users across China, Southeast Asia, and remote routes between the Asia-Pacific region and North America.
Watch an ancient ice sheet cover the British Isles then vanish, in eerie time-lapse animation
The rapid decline of the British-Irish Ice Sheet thousands of years ago may hold lessons for how melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will influence sea-level rise in the future.
Scientists are working on an official 'alien contact protocol' for when ET phones Earth
We're unprepared for when E.T. reaches out to us. A team of experts is determined to change that.
Astronomers have detected another 'planet killer' asteroid. Could we miss one coming our way?
If you surfed the web this morning, you may have seen news of the latest existential threat to humanity: a “planet killer” asteroid named 2022 AP7. Luckily for us 2022 AP7 “has no chance to hit the Earth currently”, according to Scott Sheppard at the Carnegie Institution for Science.
Buckle up for family board game night with 'Disney Space Mountain: All Systems Go'
This sci-fi game from Ravensburger is a high-speed race based on Disney’s Space Mountain indoor roller coaster
First Starliner crew flight slips to April 2023
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaches the International space Station on May 20. Credit: NASA
The first test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule with astronauts has been delayed from February to April 2023, moving the mission after a busy stretch of crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station, and allowing more time for engineers to address problems discovered on an unpiloted test flight earlier this year, NASA said Thursday.
Fire alarm on Earth delays Northrop Grumman cargo launch to space station
A fire alarm on Earth prevented the launch of Northrop Grumman's NG-18 cargo ship for NASA on Nov. 6.
Amateur radio operators and more will track NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission
NASA named 18 space agencies, organizations and individuals who will watch the Orion spacecraft as it flies around the moon, after launching with Artemis 1 no earlier than Nov. 14.
Galactic arms comb 'Berenice's Hair' in gorgeous telescope photo
The spiral galaxy Messier 99 got the star treatment from two European Southern Observatory instruments.
Live coverage: Countdown begins for launch of Antares rocket from Virginia
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Antares rocket from Virginia with Northrop Grumman’s 18th operational Cygnus resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
